SDG #333 GVM H3 - Performing how it should! (almost)

This follow-up traces the GVM H3’s poor performance to an assembly error: the connectors for the transformer’s two secondary windings had been swapped. The lower voltage was feeding the heater, while the electronics received the higher voltage. Identical connectors allowed the factory mistake to happen.

Correcting the connections made a substantial difference. Earlier tests had shown about 40 W total input, with roughly 6 W running the electronics. In this retest the input reaches about 62 to 67 W during heat-up, and Steve describes the iron as delivering around 60 W. Soldering on demanding PCB pads and the coin test is much better, although the station still falls short of its advertised 80 W and of more powerful competitors.

The remaining frustration is sleep behaviour. Placing the handpiece in its cradle eventually switches the heater off completely; there is no reduced temperature standby stage. With the available power, recovery takes longer than ideal. Extending the timeout keeps the tip hot for longer, with a potential cost to cartridge life.

The verdict remains qualified: the corrected unit is a usable option, but buyers should not have to check whether a station was assembled correctly. The improvement demonstrated here is a hardware assembly correction, not a firmware update. See the soldering iron comparison for the combined verdict across the original review and follow-ups.